Crying wolf.
I am utterly fascinated by Wolf RPG. Set in a fictional area in the Pacific Northwest called the Teekon Wilds — loosely based on Glacier National Park — this play-by-post game has been running for over a decade and has had almost seven thousand players during that time. It’s mind-boggling.
What is Wolf RPG about? Wolves. Not werewolves, not anthropomorphic animals, but straight-up wild beasts living their lives. The Teekon Wilds exist more or less in real-time, and if you visit the site, you’ll even see a regular weather report that tells you exactly what conditions are like when you post.
I’ve never participated in Wolf RPG, mostly because I’m intimidated by the idea of plunging into such a massive tale. However, that hasn’t stopped me from checking in periodically to see what’s happening there. People are deeply invested in their wolves, and the stories they tell together are no less compelling than any D&D adventuring party.
Over the years, I’ve thought about running something like Wolf RPG, though with a far less ambitious scope. I tend to run short campaigns of four or eight adventures, which won’t come close to touching Wolf RPG’s longevity. I don’t know if such an abbreviated game would give players something approximating the same experience. There’s no room for lengthy explorations of lupine life outside of a compelling story, and I wonder if that’s not part of what makes Wolf RPG unique.
But 2025 is long, so who knows? I guess we’ll see.